WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. - The Monmouth University women's basketball team rode its defense and some hot shooting from beyond the arc to a 61-45 win over Stony Brook in nonconference action on Wednesday evening at the Multipurpose Activity Center. The Hawks even up their season record at 3-3 with the win, while the loss drops the Seawolves to 1-5 on the season.
"I think it was a great team performance from our young group tonight to find a way to win," said Monmouth head coach Stephanie V. Gaitley. "We did a good job of weathering the storm early and I think our defense dictated the win tonight."
MU was led by a stingy defense that limited Stony Brook to 16 second half points and on-target long range shooting from freshman Carly Thibault (East Lyme, Conn. /East Lyme), who hit 4-of-5 three-pointers and scored a career-high 14 points.
"We did not shoot well early and because we were struggling, Carly provided a spark off the bench to give us some breathing room," added Gaitley.
The Hawks allowed their lowest point total in a contest since surrendering 44 points to Long Island on February 16 of last season.
Thibault added four rebounds in her 23 minutes of action, while classmate Alysha Womack (Springfield, Pa. /Cardinal O'Hara) paced the team with a career-best 15 points. Womack added four rebounds and two assists with newcomer Erin Rooney (Christchurch, N.Z. /Marian College) contributing 11 points, a career-high tying seven boards and three assists.
The Seawolves raced out to an 8-0 lead just over three minutes into the contest, paced by two jumpers from Destiny Jacobs. MU came firing back to cut the lead to 10-8 at the first media timeout, spearheaded by a three-pointer from Thibault.
Stony Brook continued to hold an early lead at 16-10 lead with 11:16 left in the opening half after a lay in from Kirsten Jeter.
The Hawks lead SBU by as many as six points in the first half, 29-23 with 3:03 showing on the clock. MU took a 33-29 lead into intermission, paced by 11 points from Womack. Thibault tied her career-high in the first half with eight points, including a pair of three-pointers.
The Hawks shot 40% (12-of-30) in the first half, including 50% (4-for-8) from three-point range. Monmouth outrebounded Stony Brook 21-10 in the opening 20 minutes, including an 11-2 advantage on the offensive glass. MU limited the Seawolves to 7-of-19 shooting to end the first half, after SBU hit its first five shots of the game.
SBU shot 50% (12-of-24) in the first half and was paced by a trio of players, Misha Horsey, Jeter and Jacobs, with six points apiece.
MU took its first double-digit lead of the game at 44-34 following a three-pointer and two free throws from Rooney. The Blue and White's lead grew to as many as 18 with 1:08 left in the contest.
The Hawks' defense limited Stony Brook to only one point for an 11:57 stretch of the middle of the second half, building a double-digit advantage in the process.
Monmouth's defense and free throw shooting was the story of the second half, limiting SBU to 5-of-18 shooting (27.8%) from the field and hitting 17-of-18 from the charity stripe. For the game, the Hawks shot 33.3% (16-for-48), but did hit 7-of-13 three's (53.8%) and 22-of-26 (84.6%) from the free throw line. The Hawks' bench outscored Stony Brook's 24-7 and MU outrebounded the visitor's 38-25, including 16-8 on the offensive end.
Sophomore Alexis Canady (Forestville, Md. /Bishop McNamara) added six points, on a perfect 6-for-6 from the foul line, and six rebounds in the game. A trio of Hawks, freshmen Abby Martin (Maplewood, N.J. /Columbia), Gabby Singer (Harrisburg, Pa. /Central Dauphin) and fifth-year senior Laura Forbes (Eatontown, N.J. /Monmouth Regional), all contributed five points apiece.
Stony Brook shot 40.5% (17-of-42) for the game, missing both of its three-point attempts. The Seawolves were 11-for-17 (64.7%) from the foul line, and were paced by Jeter and Horsey, who scored 10 points apiece.
Monmouth returns to action on Saturday when they visit Boston College for a 2:00 pm tip.
